Royal Institution to sell science treasures to rescue finances

First editions of Darwin, Newton, Humboldt and Kepler among groundbreaking works going on sale

Ninety works spanning three centuries of scientific inquiry are to go under the hammer at Christie's in December, in an attempt to plug a 2m hole in the finances of the UK's most venerable science charity, the Royal Institution.

The groundbreaking works in the history of medicine, science and the natural world include first editions from scientific luminaries such as Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Leonhard Euler, Johannes Kepler and Alexander von Humboldt. They will be put up for auction on 1 December 2015. The selection ranges from the 16th to the 19th century, many of the volumes given added lustre by their connection to an institution founded in 1799 for "diffusing the knowledge" of science and technology.